Freedom Festival unveils over 100 experiences for 2026 programme

Hull’s Freedom Festival has announced its full 2026 programme, offering audiences over 100 different experiences and the return of evening performances.

From Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 September, Peace will frame a programme in which 32 companies from 9 countries bring circus, dance, street theatre, installations and performance to locations across Hull. 

Across four days, audiences will be invited to explore what peace can look and feel like today - from quiet, reflective moments to big, shared celebrations.

Phil Hargreaves, Festival Director, said. “We’ve programmed Peace as something audiences can experience, not just read about in a brochure. Across the weekend, people will encounter it in very different ways – watching a daring circus show with thousands of others, sharing a playful family performance, or spending time with work that asks difficult questions. It’s about making space for connection, imagination and hope in the middle of everyday life.”

A major highlight of the 2026 programme is the return of a large evening event on both Friday and Saturday. This year, audiences will experience A.I. Thentic, a new large‑scale outdoor show from Gorilla Circus, blending spectacular aerial performance with timely questions about technology and human connection.

Phil continues, “Due to rising costs, the event cannot be delivered as a completely free show. However, Freedom Festival has introduced low‑cost tickets starting from just £1, keeping it as accessible as possible for local audiences.”

With something for every kind of festival‑goer, the 2026 line‑up offers a wide range of work for different ages and interests, all threaded through with the idea of Peace:

• For families and children: playful shows including Rhinos, Baby Brain, Lilliput and Kismat Walla, transforming familiar spaces into places of wonder, fun and discovery.
• For deep thinkers: powerful installations such as The Hate Circuit and Through the Ruins, the moving dance work Black, and evening spectacular A.I. Thentic, inviting audiences to sit with complex ideas in a shared space.
• For those who love fun and chaos: high‑energy performances from Always Drinking Marching Band with The Street is Ours, an acrobatic robot Acrobot, and the mischievous trio Tom, Tom and Tom.

Circus remains central to the festival’s identity. Alongside A.I. Thentic, audiences can experience the gravity‑defying 10,000 Hours at Hull Truck Theatre, the astonishing ladder acrobatics of Beyond by Circumstances, and the dramatic wheel of death in Spinsane by Racehorse Company.

Many events in the Freedom Festival 2026 programme will be free or free‑ticketed, helping to manage time slots and capacity while ensuring as many people as possible can take part.

Public spaces across Hull will once again be reimagined as places to gather, watch, participate and connect - with opportunities for people to drop in for a single show or spend the whole weekend exploring.

“Whether you come for one show or the whole weekend, there is a way into the programme for everyone,’ added Phil. ‘Freedom Festival 2026 is an invitation to step outside your routine, experience something unexpected and think about peace from a new angle.”

Full programme details, trailers and booking information are now available at freedomfestival.online.

Freedom Festival 2026
- Thursday 3 – Sunday 6 September
- 32 companies
- 133 experiences
- Artists from 9 countries

For more information and tickets, visit freedomfestival.online.